Infinite: Dawn Game

Chapter 962...

Yu Shijiu had already put away his axe, and the hair on his left arm had gradually calmed down.

He pulled his wandering thoughts back, walked up to the two of them, stopped, and after thinking for a moment, took out a handful of candy from his pocket—the ones Chen Yi had given him earlier, which he hadn't finished eating yet.

"Have some candy to calm your nerves."

Yu Shijiu handed the candy to the two of them, then pointed outside the car and said earnestly:

"After you get off the car, don't look back. Just keep walking straight ahead. It's almost dawn, and someone will see you."

The boy's voice was unusually calm and gentle, carrying a convincing and strange power.

Xiao Juan and A Hao exchanged a glance, then looked into Yu Shijiu's eyes, nodded vigorously, held hands tightly, mustered their courage, stepped off the bus, and walked together into the gray rain, heading quickly towards one end of the intersection without looking back.

Their figures gradually receded into the distance, eventually disappearing into the hazy morning mist.

After the young couple, representing another possibility for Lin Hai and his girlfriend, got off the bus, only the player and the hooded passenger next to Lin Hai, who was about to disappear, remained on the bus.

Lin Hai still held it tightly, but he could feel its cold body getting lighter and lighter, more and more transparent in his arms.

“Ah Hai…”

The hoodie-wearing passenger, or rather, his girlfriend Ah Xiu's last vestige of devotion, whispered in Lin Hai's ear in an almost gentle voice:

"Let go... let me go... you... you should go too..."

"No...I don't want to..."

Lin Hai shook his head, the tears that had been welling up in his eyes finally falling. He choked back sobs as he hugged the other person tightly, murmuring:

"No... Ah Xiu, you're all I have left... you're all I have left..."

Lin Hai and A Xiu were both orphans abandoned by their parents at a young age. He had mild autism when he was very young. His parents, who gave birth to him, argued constantly in front of him, saying that they had a stupid son because of the other... The two of them always argued, but no matter how much they argued, they would always stop when they saw Lin Hai in silence.

"...Let's get a divorce."

One night, Lin Hai's father stopped Lin Hai's mother, who wanted to go back to her parents' home, and said, "I don't want to live with you anymore."

"..."

Little Lin Hai was sitting in a chair touching building blocks, and he didn't even look up when he heard those words.

"You don't want to be with me anymore?"

Lin's mother found it absurd, "Think about it carefully, if we divorce, who will Xiaohai live with? He's a simple-minded, withdrawn little boy, who can he live with?"

“I’ll take care of him.”

Lin's father interrupted his wife, looking like he'd had enough, "You come home every day and start arguing with me. I've really had enough, you know that?!"

"Have you had enough?"

Tears welled up in Lin's mother's eyes, and she slapped Lin's father across the face, screaming and roaring:

"Whose fault is it, Xiao Hai? Huh? If you hadn't cheated on me during my pregnancy and hadn't been able to hide your affair so well that I, a pregnant woman, found out, would I have been depressed every day during my pregnancy? Would I have given birth to an autistic child?!"

As she spoke, Lin's mother slapped Lin's father across the face again, gritting her teeth as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Why didn't you tell me you'd had enough when you cheated on me? Huh? Lin Qingguo, if you'd had enough, why did you come to my bed every day? If you'd had enough, why didn't you tell me sooner when you cheated on me?"

"That's enough!"

Having been slapped twice in a row, Lin's father also lost his temper, barely suppressing his anger as he angrily said:

"Have you no shame?! Saying such shameless things in front of the child, do you even have the demeanor of a mother?!"

"You're shameless! You were shameless first!"

Lin's mother also went mad; her eyes were wild and her face was contorted.

"You thought you could do whatever you wanted just because I was pregnant! Lin Qingguo! If it weren't for... if it weren't for the fact that I was already more than eight months pregnant at the time..."

Lin's mother trembled as she spoke, murmuring:

"If I weren't already eight months pregnant... I would have divorced you long ago, I would have divorced you long ago... It was you! You knelt down and said you were wrong! You begged for my forgiveness, begged for my forgiveness this time... I believed you... Hahaha... I was so stupid to believe you..."

Lin's father couldn't take it anymore. He slammed his fist on the table and roared:

"Enough! You said enough! The past is the past! It's all in the past! You're the one who keeps clinging to the old things and won't let go! You're the one who's been suspicious all this time! You've been looking at me like I'm a dog!"

"……Yeah?"

Lin's mother raised her hand to wipe away the tears on her face, her expression twisting into a strange and mocking sneer.

"Have you always thought I was stupid?"

Lin's mother: "Yesterday you went to a hotel with your girlfriend, and you even brought Xiao Hai with you... Lin Qingguo, do you have a conscience? Do you have any sense of shame?"

The anger on Lin's father's face froze instantly. He looked at Lin Hai, who was playing with building blocks next to him, with wide eyes, feeling guilty and incredulous.

"Who? Who told you—"

"Don't wrong Xiao Hai," Lin's mother interrupted him, sneering, "Taking your son to the hospital for a follow-up appointment and taking the opportunity to meet your lover, even a beast wouldn't do such a thing, would he?"

Lin's father's expression changed completely. As if his mask had been ripped off, he shouted at Lin Hai, who was engrossed in playing with building blocks, with a ferocious look on his face.

“I feed you and clothe you! You never even say a word to me! You're only close to your mother, aren't you? You keep quiet and pretend to be sick all day, then secretly tell your mother about me…”

"I said it wasn't Xiaohai who said it! I saw it myself—"

"You actually stalked me? You're terrifying! You're out of your mind!"

"Lin Qingguo!"

"..."

The unpleasant noise of men and women mingling together kept reaching Lin Hai's ears. He listened quietly, playing with the building blocks in his hands, but his eyes gradually became redder and redder.

tick-

Tick-tock—tick-tock—tick-tock—

As cold tears silently slid down their cheeks, the couple, who had uttered every harsh word imaginable, completely turned against each other.

divorce.

Lin's mother agreed to the divorce.

Lin Hai looked up as his mother pulled her suitcase out of the house, his lips moving silently.

But he still didn't say a word.

Let's get a divorce.

He held a chipped piece of points with a blank expression, his gaze indifferent and icy, completely devoid of the vibrancy that belonged to someone his age.

Less than two days after the divorce, Lin's father brought home the woman he had cheated on his wife with during her pregnancy.

Later... Lin Hai was secretly thrown into the suburbs by his father.

In his time, there were far too many parents who abandoned their children.

Most of them are girls, followed by the disabled, those with mental problems, and those with disfigured faces... The ultimate fate of children like him is most likely to be to starve to death, or to be picked up by human traffickers and have their arms and legs broken so they can beg on the streets.

It was Ah Xiu who suddenly appeared and "saved" him.

Ah Xiu is dark-skinned, thin, and short, but she has a pair of long, narrow, beautiful eyes that look gentle when she smiles.

She was two years older than Lin Hai and was an orphanage child in the city. She was abandoned by her parents because her left leg was shorter than her right leg when she was born.

She was a child who survived because a kind passerby took her to an orphanage.

Lin Hai was also a child she kindly took in.

Ah Xiu pulled him along as he limped into the orphanage, and those small, long eyes remained forever in Lin Hai's memory.

They grew up together, went to school together, and tried their best to live together... Lin Hai confessed his feelings to A Xiu on the mountaintop behind the orphanage.

Ah Xiu was shocked, and then refused to say that her leg problem was incurable... Lin Hai also said that he had a problem with his personality, and it was Ah Xiu who took him under her wing and stayed with him for a long time, which helped him to come out of that quiet world.

For Lin Hai... if it weren't for Ah Xiu... if it weren't for Ah Xiu... he would have died long ago.

He died in that desolate outskirts where no one ever passed by—his father, that disgusting man, never intended for him to live.

Yes, what's the point of living?

In Lin's father's eyes, what's the point of a child who is unhealthy, indifferent, and prone to causing trouble?

From the start of the divorce, no, it should be before the divorce, Lin's father was already thinking about how to get rid of him, right?

These are the words Lin Hai said to Ah Xiu in secret when they were older.

Ah Xiu patted his head. His eyes, which looked fierce to others, were sparkling under the light, glistening with tender tears.

"Let's get married."

Ah Xiu said, "Xiao Hai, let's get married after we've saved enough money."

Let's get married.

Once we've saved enough money... once we've saved enough money, let's go back to the place where we first met and get married.

Ah Xiu said.

They talked about the future that rainy night, about having a well-behaved and quiet child... about how they would raise that child to be the happiest person imaginable...

Then, they agreed to go back to the orphanage together, and together... they got on the bus.

……

Lin Hai held the non-human creature in his arms, seemingly completely immersed in his memories, with blood even starting to seep from the corners of his eyes.

Mulanzhi and the others noticed the chaotic mental energy inside the bus, and their expressions changed simultaneously.

"Lanzhi," Li Ye sensed something was wrong and quickly asked, "Has Brother Lin been contaminated?"

With the activation of high-intensity talent skills, especially for a mentally-based player like Lin Hai, Li Ye felt that Lin Hai might have already been "corrupted".

Didn't you see the black fog inside the bus getting thicker and thicker?

Although players won't actually die in guild battle dungeons, who would want to try dying when they can live?

Li Ye didn't want to, Ma Ming didn't want to, Mu Lanzhi... Mu Lanzhi didn't want to either.

She gritted her teeth, just as she was about to say a few words to Lin Hai, when she heard Ma Ming's alert voice behind her.

"What are you doing! Stand back!"

Ma Ming pointed at An Jie, who was walking this way, holding a prop, and said, "You yourself just said you wouldn't come any closer! What do you want to do now?! Are you going to back out?!"

Although it's normal for Anjie to back out, after all, they are competitors... Ma Ming felt a chill down his spine. He gripped the prop in his hand tightly, feeling annoyed that he hadn't activated his talent skill.

If, if I also activated my talent skill, and teamed up with Lan Zhi and Li Ye... the three of them could definitely hold their own against An Jie and the others for a while... right?

Ma Ming felt a little uneasy, and kept glancing at the car door out of the corner of his eye.

Yu Shijiu seems capable of taking on both himself and Li Ye... but probably not, right?

"That is based on the premise that your president's mental state is stable."

Ange's expression remained unchanged. She toyed with the short blade in her hand and said meaningfully:

"Take a good look at his legs."

thigh?

Li Ye and Ma Ming looked completely bewildered.

What legs? Whose legs are you looking at?

Mulanzhi's expression changed completely. She looked down sharply and stared in astonishment at Lin Hai's calves, which were beginning to turn transparent.

"Brother Lin!"

Li Ye stared in surprise and cried out, immediately standing up to grab Lin Hai's hand—bang!

He was pushed away by Mulanzhi with a stern face.

Li Ye, who had been pushed aside, said anxiously, "Lanzhi? Why did you push me? Brother Lin can't hold that thing anymore! Look, his legs are almost gone!"

"I saw."

Mulanzhi's face was very pale. She suddenly turned to look at Anjie, closed her eyes briefly, and said:

"Captain An, do you have a solution?"

Ange raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, "We should be... rivals, right?"

Just a few stops ago, no, just a few minutes ago they were still fighting each other, and now Mulanzhi is asking her if there's any way to deal with it?

Isn't that a bit too strange?

"You have already won."

Mulanzhi took a deep breath and looked at He Lingling, who had stood up from the seat behind Anjie.

"We don't have any props for mental pollution."

Mulanzhi asked, "May I borrow some from you?"

Regardless of whether they could win or not—Mulanzhi felt they were unlikely to win, but given Lin Hai's current situation…

It's best to avoid dying if you can avoid it.

For players like Lin Hai with mental-based talents, the cost of "death" in guild battles will be even higher than for players with other talents.

After all, they are just like... fragile mages in traditional multiplayer games.

"..." An Jie was silent for a few seconds, then turned to look at He Lingling, "Lingling, what do you think?"

"..."

He Lingling slowly walked over, holding onto the chair.

She swallowed the blood from her throat, lowered her eyes, and said, "Okay."

Mulanzhi was overjoyed and quickly said, "Thank you—"

"But what can you give us?"

He Lingling said, "Sister Mu, this is a fair deal, right?"

“…I know.” Mulanzhi nodded subconsciously upon hearing this, and after thinking for a moment, she said:

"Once the guild tournament is over, all the points I personally earned will be transferred to you."

He Lingling's breath hitched.

"……Can."

Mulanzhi was incredibly generous—He Lingling quickly shared a few drops of the "Dew" she had obtained from the previous game instance with Anjie.

Anjie took the pitifully small, transparent bottle and handed it to Mulanzhi.

"Thank you."

Mulanzhi readily accepted the bottle and thanked her.

Anjie: "It was just a transaction."

Mulan smiled wryly, "Then I still have to thank you."

After saying that, she quickly walked to Lin Hai's side, squatted down, and began to feed him the "condensed dew".

"Brother Lin, you still have a future."

Mulanzhi crouched down, looked directly at the forest, and said quietly:

"Sister Ah Xiu hopes you live, live well, instead of being trapped forever on this bus that will never reach its destination."

As she spoke, Mulanzhi gave Li Ye and Ma Ming a meaningful look.

Li Ye instantly understood what she meant, and quickly took the bottle from Mulanzhi's hand, ready to pour it into Lin Hai's mouth at any time.